Emergency Plans and Exercises

Plans

The LEPC is required to review the Cuyahoga County Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Plan and update annually. By reviewing and updating the Plan, the LEPC complies with the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA), the federal law that mandated Emergency Planning and Community-Right-to-Know requirements in 1985. The Plan must include certain features designed to enhance local emergency response capabilities. These features are outlined in Ohio Revised Code Section 3750.04. The Plan includes hazard analyses for over 250 facilities throughout Cuyahoga County that store or use Extremely Hazardous Substances (EHS). These analyses provide an estimate of the potential affected area in the event of a release of an EHS from these facilities.

Exercises

The LEPC is required by Ohio Revised Code Chapter 3750 to complete an annual exercise of the County Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Plan. The exercise must test various plan provisions and is evaluated by the Ohio State Emergency Response Commission. Three types of exercises are used:

Tabletop exercise, which is a verbal walk-through or discussion of the response procedures. It is designed to evaluate plans and resolve questions of coordination and roles.

Functional exercise, which is a hands-on or physical demonstration of a specific function or operational capability.

Full-scale exercise, which is also a hands-on test, but involves a test of the overall emergency management system. A full-scale exercise tests most or all of the emergency response functions outlined in an emergency plan. These exercises involve either simulation of events that might occur at a fixed facility or as a result of a transportation incident.